Public, leaders must fight misinformation about science

We need many more politicians and opinion leaders from across the ideological and political spectrum to express their trust in, and reliance upon facts, no matter what divergent political viewpoints they may hold. We need them to reject and denounce scientific misinformation in favor of a baseline of scientific understanding about the critical issues we face that is informed by the best-available evidence.

We can overcome the scourge of politically motivated scientific misinformation but to do so, we must reawaken and mobilize not just our elected officials and industry leaders, but also the American public’s great “Pragmatic Majority.” Only with their vocal commitment can we return to our core American values of objectivity and reason upon which the effectiveness and credibility of our democracy depends.

Branscomb, a physicist and former chief scientist at IBM, has served on scientific advisory panels in both Democratic and Republican administrations and, under President Richard Nixon, headed what is now the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He currently holds three pro bono appointments at UCSD and is a founding member of the Center for Science and Democracy, a new initiative by the Union of Concerned Scientists.